Betsy Beaulieu and her wife, Lee Burdette Williams, live in Mystic.
The couple are nearing retirement. Beaulieu, 61, spent most of her career working in higher education, but today she works for a small non-profit.
It’s mostly a labor of love.
“And I hate to think that I’d have to give that up and take a job that pays more or has better benefits,” she said.
Beaulieu is one of nearly 30,000 people insured through Access Health CT, the state’s health insurance exchange, who are caught in the middle during an ongoing federal government standoff over extending premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act.
For years, those premiums have driven down health care costs. But with their expiration slated at year end, middle-income families like Beaulieu’s are facing the spectre of skyrocketing health care costs.
“It's going to be a significant increase to go from $700 a month to cover the two of us to anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000,” she said. “And that's if we stay with bronze and we don't step up to a silver plan. All the silver plans are over $3,000 a month.”
The couple are insured by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield.
But it’s their income level that’s the real sticking point.
Beaulieu said they make an annual income that’s over 400% of the federal poverty line, which in 2025 equated to $62,600.
Because they make more than that, the couple will completely lose eligibility for federal subsidies, unless Congress reaches a resolution.
That would make the plans – which would also carry a deductible of about $6,500 for each of them – out of reach.
“What a difficult time for average Americans,” she said.
Like winning the ‘reverse lottery’
Income, age and location play a major role in what people pay for health insurance, said Ravi Sharma, an economist at Portland State University.
“Being an older person with income just above 400% of the federal poverty level [and] who lives in an expensive health care market is the equivalent of winning a reverse health insurance lottery in this situation,” Sharma said.
The effect of an extra dollar of income at 400% of the federal poverty level creates a financial cliff with the expiration of the enhanced tax credits.
Quick math shows a 64 year-old in Hartford making an income of exactly 400% of the federal poverty level, could expect to pay about 10% of their income – $520 per month – for a benchmark silver plan.
But if that person earns just one dollar more, they can expect to pay $1,871 per month, or nearly 36% of their income, for the same plan.
Beaulieu said that she and her wife brought up the issue with their Congressman Joe Courtney, a Democrat.
Speaking at a press conference in Hartford October, Courtney said Republicans wrongly believe that extending the subsidies is an issue that can be put off until December.
“It means thousands of dollars for all of our constituents,” he said.
Beaulieu said the couple will try to save money by tightening their belts, canceling their yearly vacation and stopping a weekly ritual of going out to eat.
“We all know that the cost of groceries has skyrocketed in recent years,” she said. “I've recently found Aldi pretty close by to where we live, and you can get some good bargains there. So I think I may become more frugal in my grocery shopping as well.”
Learn more
Enrollment on the exchange began Nov. 1 and ends Dec. 15 for plans beginning at the start of the year.
Residents can enroll until Jan. 15 for plans beginning in February.
State officials are advising people to hold off signing up for a plan under the Affordable Care Act until Congress reaches a resolution.
